Surprise, Surprise
by jacksparrow589
Summary: In which Roy is frustrated with alchemy, Riza is frustrated with Roy, and Roy finally gets the big picture. Takes place during Roy's apprenticeship to Riza's father. Royai... ish... hints... Yeah. Oneshot.


**Surprise, Surprise**

**A/N: Takes place during Roy's apprenticeship to Mr. Hawkeye.**

"Ugh!"

Riza winced. Roy had been complaining all afternoon about completing a circle without fully understanding one of the concepts. Her father had not been feeling well, and had gone to lie down, leaving Roy with the incomplete theory that he couldn't quite puzzle out.

"Why doesn't this stupid thing work?"

She'd had enough. A little peace and quiet wasn't much to ask. Summoning her composure, she walked over to the living room.

* * *

Roy was nearly pouting. He didn't want to seem like a brat, and he was probably annoying Riza, but why did Mr. Hawkeye have to take ill _during_ the day's lesson? While it wasn't a fundamental theory of alchemy he had been learning, it was frustrating to not get it all the way. Mr. Hawkeye had implied that Roy's foundation should be solid enough that, given time, Roy could figure it out. He just didn't want to take time.

"Patience is a virtue, you know."

Roy started back from the table, turning to look at Riza. She was wearing the same vexed stare as her father sometimes did, her eyes just as unsettling as Mr. Hawkeye's.

_I should probably say something._ "Um, sorry. I'm annoying you, aren't I?"

Riza came into the room. "What are you working on?"

Roy showed her the book. "I feel like I'm going to kick myself when I finally put it all together."

"Hmmm…" Riza picked the book up and paged back a bit.

"You _understand_ this?" The words were out of Roy's mouth before he realized that what he had intended as a compliment sounded more like an insult.

Unfortunately for him, Riza responded to the insult. "My father _is_ an alchemist, and I _do_ read."

"Sorry. I meant… Never mind. Any way I say it, it's not going to come out right. You're just… really good at this stuff, and I guess I keep on forgetting…" Roy shook his head. "You're very smart, I admire that, and we'll just leave it there before I really mess this up."

A tiny smile turned up the corners of Riza's mouth. She put the book down. "You went over this?"

Roy nodded and examined the diagram, but Riza pointed at the text. He scanned it for useful information. "Oh."

Riza's grin widened. "I didn't get it for the longest time, either. I… I went through my father's notes for anything pertaining to this, and there it was." She looked a bit embarrassed.

Roy started to sketch the array, taking care to use the knowledge he had just gained. He finished quickly and showed it to Riza. "Like so?"

Taking the paper, Riza squinted. Finally, she grabbed another pen and made a few adjustments. "More like this. I know it seems small, but—"

"Small pebble, big ripples. I know, I know." Out of the blue, Roy suddenly became very keenly aware that this was Riza he was talking to. While he knew her well enough now, there was just something about this that seemed… off. He was suddenly not sure what to say, though they now seemed to be locked in a staring contest.

Riza seemed to sense the same thing and cleared her throat, crossing her arms and looking away. "Well, if that's all…" She trailed off and offered the pen to Roy, who took it quickly, as though any contact would give them a high-voltage shock. "I need to finish dinner."

"…Yeah… I think I've got this under control." He watched her turn, knowing there was something should be doing. "Riza?"

She stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Yes?"

"Um, thank you for your help. Like I said, you're good. Maybe if I need help again…?"

Riza's cheeks looked a bit flushed. "I'm definitely not _that_ good, but you're welcome. Just keep studying, Roy. You really will make a great alchemist." Their conversation ended, Roy turned to his studies, and Riza returned to the kitchen.

**A/N: Weird ending. Oh well. Just kind of an "a day in the life" piece.**

**I don't imagine that Riza would excel at alchemy, but, being her father's daughter, she'd be somewhat proficient in the basics. Which brings me to another thing: would she really go looking through her father's stuff? I'm a pretty good kid, myself, but sometimes, you just have to know... When it's important, of course! I don't snoop for Christmas presents or anything--the fun is in being surprised!**


End file.
